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OPINION

Letter: Can we get more diverse college regents?

Helene Boyle
Published 1:41 p.m. MT Oct. 5, 2015

CLOSE

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (center) looks at a birthday cupcake as Senior Associate Christine Wilkinson (right) and Mark Killian, (left) chair of the Arizona Board of Regents, look on, during an Arizona Board of Regents meeting on the ASU campus in Tempe on Thursday, April 9, 2015. Wilkinson brought Ducey a cupcake for his birthday during the meeting.(Photo: David Wallace, David Wallace/The Republic)

Gov. Doug Ducey now has to appoint a replacement for Mr. Killian. I respectfully urge the governor to find a candidate who embodies the same qualities as the outgoing regent, but who can also add to the diversity of the board.

The state universities in Arizona are large universities with diverse populations. At ASU, for example, the student population is 56 percent male and 43 percent female, and the undergraduate population is 56 percent White, 20 percent Hispanic, 5.8 percent Asian, 5 percent African-American and 1.6 percent First Nation, with the remainder either mixed race or unknown. The other universities have similar profiles.

ABOR does not reflect the diverse nature of the universities: of the 10 regents, 9 are male, 1 is female (and also the only First Nation regent), and none are Hispanic, Asian or African-American. While the regents do excellent work, they could benefit from the voices of different genders, cultures, backgrounds and viewpoints.